I was wondering if anyone could recommend any indoor ski or dry slopes near Basel?
many thanks in advance,
Olly
Hi all,
You must be joking ha ha
Ye of little faith.
Einsiedeln indeed has a summer use piste - although it is not ideal for beginners.
If you have got nothing of value to offer, don't reply! Ha ha ha
I am completely new to Switzerland and to ski action... So do not have an idea..
The only off-season skiing I have seen (apart from finding a glacier open all year) is cross country skiing done on what looks like really long roller blades, perhaps a metre or so long. There's a quiet and straight road near to our place where people "ski" up and down it now and again.
Hi Olster
I wouldn't bother with dry slopes when there are so many good real ones near enough for day trips from Basel.
Skiing on snow is easier and a lot more fun.
Engelberg is less than 1.5 or 2.25 hours away by car or train respectively and the ski season can start as early as October on the higher slopes, though not very suitable for beginners. There are many others not too far too but with a shorter season. There is also ski resort in close by in Germany called Feldberg, which is much cheaper.
Check out the Basel ski group on meetup which had people going out most weekends last season. There are quite a few beginners in the group, if you are looking for some to have lessons with.
Sorry but coming to Switzerland and asking for info about a dry/indoor slope is synonymous with going to a whore house and asking for info on inflatable dolls
You know what I mean? and don't say no!
Edit: a less crude analogy... would be going to a wine tasting event and asking for a cola
I saw ski jumping one summer at Hinterzarten a few years ago. Very surreal. (using a kind of artificial grassy surface).
Ooh I want a go!
If you're not prepared for pisstaking answers, don't ask questions of a public forum.
Well if you want to know about learning to ski, please feel free to ask.[1]
Glacier season in Engelberg starts in just five weeks time. Not the best place for a complete beginner lesson, although I did take some as early as mid-October up there last year, so it is possible at least.
[1] In case you're not aware, I'm an instructor at Prime Ski School in Engelberg,
Hey guys!
Thought I'd jump in on this thread. Any chance of getting some action up in Engelberg next week? I'm jonesing for snow, and I'm seeing white stuff in the mountains.
It looks like the Engelberg glacier area doesn't open until October 19th, but you can always hope!
It opens on Saturday, so I will be going. PM me if you want to meet for a coffee.
Does anyone remember the awful plastic slopes, like the one I used to go to at Swadlincote?
(our daughter thought Jesus was born there btw, 'cause she had been told at school that Jesus was born in swaddling clothes
Don't think I ever knew there was one there, although I had not interest in or knowledge of skiing at all when I lived in Derby (my home town).
But yes, my first experiences were also on the plastic diamond-shaped matrix, at Hemel Hempstead (which has now been re-built into an indoor 'real snow' centre) . Terrible to fall on, really easy to catch fingers and thumbs, and burned clothing or skin really easily if you slipped any distance on it. But after learning the basics on that surface, coming to try ot on real snow was really easy by comparison, so it served its purpose.
I learned to ski at Hillend dry slope near Edinburgh, I'd never skied on snow at the time so never knew the difference so quite enjoyed it. My school would take us there for an afternoon for PE lessons. Later on even after I had skied on snow I used to love going to Hillend after work in the summer, the view from the slope is fantastic and it was a great way of keeping up with ski-ing and was way more fun than hitting the gym for exercise and night ski-ing was always possible.
I didn't go skiing for over 15 years and kind of wanted to get into it again however wasn't really confident to go up a proper mountain to start with. Went to a place in Bottrop germany (I admit it's not eactly around the corner). It was great fun.
I currently live in hemelly bumpstead and I've been to the snow centre a few times. it's pretty impressive, but expensive. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to squeeze anymore lessons in between Christmas and packing but was good to learn on as a complete newbie.
I guess I'll just have to do lessons with the kids in Switzerland 😳
Hopefully you mean at the same time as the kids, rather than with the kids. Adults learn differently to children and benefit from different styles of teaching. As a qualified ski instructor in Engelberg I have experience of teaching mixed groups of kids and adults and these are not ideal. Might seem more expensive but will be quicker for you to learn the basics, then be able to practice with the kids after the lessons.
Agreed... it is really really hard to teach parents and kids together. Apart from the different learning styles making it almost impossible to give both the parent and child what they both need, it is also really hard to get the child's full attention with mum or dad there the whole time!